New Delhi: A 68-year-old woman was allegedly beaten to death with a blunt object after being robbed of cash and jewellery at her residence in central Delhi's Paharganj area on Wednesday.

The deceased woman, identified as Shanti Chopra, lived with her two differently-abled sons. Her husband was a hotelier, who died around two years ago.

Chopra was also former member of a national political party, a senior police official said.

A domestic help, who was recently hired by Chopra with the help of a placement agency, is the prime suspect in the case, a senior official said.

According to the police, the incident was reported around 8.30 PM. Chopra usually used to sit outside her house around that time and chat with neighbours. When she was not found sitting there today, a few neighbours went to check on her.

They found the door locked and when they peeped through a window, they saw Chopra lying in a pool of blood.

The police had to break open Chopra's door and rush her to a hospital, where she was declared brought dead.

During investigation, it turned out that the back door of her house was also locked from inside. The rooms were apparently ransacked and later cash and jewellery were reported to be missing from her lockers, an official said.

The ventilator in the washroom was found open, suggesting that the murderer escaped through that.